Tom and Jerry cartoon gets racism warning

The Reading / Listening - Level 1

The cartoonists William Hanna and Joseph Barbera made Tom and Jerry in 1940. They made 114 Tom and Jerry cartoons from 1940 to 1957. The cartoons won seven Oscars. They are one of the most popular cartoons in history. Children watch them on TV every day. An animation expert said the quality of the early Tom and Jerry cartoons was "superb". Many people said it was "madness" that Amazon put a warning on the cartoons.

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Level 0, Level 2 or Level 3

Sources

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/oct/1/amazon-adds-racism-disclaimer-to-tom-and-jerry-car/#ixzz3ExVKKSwH
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-29427843
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_and_Jerry

Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice, drag and drop activities, crosswords, hangman, flash cards, matching activities and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

The Activities

MATCHING

PARAGRAPH ONE:

1.	Amazon.com is	a.	the cartoon
2.	one series of	b.	warning customers
3.	ethnic and racial	c.	in the 1960s
4.	Amazon said this wrong 70	d.	the show
5.	still wrong	e.	of racism
6.	the black maid in	f.	years ago
7.	Some cartoons were changed	g.	prejudices
8.	because	h.	today

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PARAGRAPH TWO:

1.	They made 114 Tom and Jerry	a.	on TV every day
2.	from 1940	b.	cartoons was "superb"
3.	The cartoons won	c.	to 1957
4.	of the most popular	d.	"madness"
5.	watch them	e.	cartoons
6.	An animation	f.	cartoons in history
7.	the quality of the early Tom and Jerry	g.	seven Oscars
8.	Many people said it was	h.	expert

LISTEN AND FILL IN THE GAPS

Amazon.com is (1) ___________________ some Tom and Jerry shows are racist. Amazon has put a warning (2) ___________________ show. It says that some of the shows have "(3) ___________________ prejudices" that used to be common in the USA. Amazon said this (4) ___________________, and is (5) ___________________. People say the black maid in the cartoon is racist. Some cartoons were changed in the 1960s (6) ___________________.

The cartoonists William Hanna and Joseph Barbera made Tom and Jerry in 1940. (7) ___________________ Tom and Jerry cartoons from 1940 to 1957. (8) ___________________ seven Oscars. They (9) ___________________ most popular cartoons in history. Children (10) ___________________ TV every day. An animation expert said the quality of the early Tom and Jerry (11) ___________________. Many people said it was "madness" that Amazon (12) ___________________ the cartoons.

PUT A SLASH ( / ) WHERE THE SPACES ARE

Amazon.comiswarningcustomersthatsomeTomandJerryshowsarer
acist.Amazonhasputawarningononeseriesoftheshow.Itsaysthatsom
eoftheshowshave"ethnicandracialprejudices"thatusedtobecommon
intheUSA.Amazonsaidthiswaswrong70yearsago,andisstillwrongtoday.
Peoplesaytheblackmaidinthecartoonisracist.Somecartoonswerecha
ngedinthe1960sbecauseofracism.ThecartoonistsWilliamHannaandJ
osephBarberamadeTomandJerryin1940.Theymade114TomandJerr
ycartoonsfrom1940to1957.ThecartoonswonsevenOscars.Theyareo
neofthemostpopularcartoonsinhistory.ChildrenwatchthemonTVeve
ryday.AnanimationexpertsaidthequalityoftheearlyTomandJerrycart
oonswas"superb".Manypeoplesaiditwas"madness"thatAmazonputa
warningonthecartoons

WRITE QUESTIONS & ASK YOUR PARTNER(S)

Student A: Do not show these to your speaking partner(s).

a)	________________________________________________________
b)	________________________________________________________
c)	________________________________________________________
d)	________________________________________________________
e)	________________________________________________________
f)	________________________________________________________
g)	________________________________________________________
h)	________________________________________________________

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

a)	________________________________________________________
b)	________________________________________________________
c)	________________________________________________________
d)	________________________________________________________
e)	________________________________________________________
f)	________________________________________________________
g)	________________________________________________________
h)	________________________________________________________

WRITING

Write about cartoons for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner's paper.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Answers

(Please check your answers against the article above.

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